98 Tamils Reported Slain in Sri Lanka
At least 98 Tamil militants of rival separatist groups were killed in factional fighting last week in northern Sri Lanka, the government’s media center said in a statement Saturday.
It blamed the killings on the most powerful rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The group controls the northern Jaffna peninsula, where the killings occurred.
The government statement said the killings were in revenge for the attempted assassination Monday of Tiger commander Sathasivam Krishankumar. He was seriously wounded, and two of his guards were killed in a grenade attack on his car.
Most of the 98 victims belonged to the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front, two of the five guerrilla groups fighting for a separate nation.
The five-year ethnic war has claimed about 5,000 lives.
Tamils make up about 18% of Sri Lanka’s population of 16 million . Most Tamils are Hindus and they say they are discriminated against by the Buddhist Sinhalese majority. Moderate Tamils want more autonomy for their communities in the north and east of Sri Lanka, where they predominate. Militants are fighting for a separate nation.
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